Sheet Metal Quote Calculator
Quote laser or plasma cut sheet metal parts from material, thickness, size and cut length, with four price levels. Batch quotes from Excel and DXF drawings with Pro.
- Free
- No sign-up
- Runs in your browser
Part
Price: USD 1.30/kg
Bounding size of the part. Leave 0 to quote cutting only.
One per contour (outline and each hole).
Quote
These are example prices and cutting speeds, not real ones. Open “Your prices and rates” and enter your material prices and your machine's cutting chart.
+50%
USD 0.60
- Standard
+100%
USD 0.79
+150%
USD 0.99
+200%
USD 1.19
Cost breakdown (1 unit)
- Material (0.283 kg × USD 1.30/kg)
- USD 0.37
- Cutting (0.03 min)
- USD 0.02
- Piercing (0.02 min)
- USD 0.01
- Cost per unit
- USD 0.40
- Weight
- 0.283 kg
Results are estimates and should be verified for critical engineering or manufacturing applications.
How it works
Choose the material and thickness, enter the part size, the cut length and the quantity. The quote adds the material, by weight, and the machine time, for cutting and piercing, and shows four selling prices so you can choose how to price the job.
- Your prices and rates: price per kg for each material (and per thickness if you buy some thicknesses at a different price), cutting speed per thickness, your machine rate per hour and the markups you use. They are saved in your browser.
- No size? Leave width and height at 0 and only the cutting is quoted, which is useful when the customer supplies the material.
- Batch quotes (Pro): upload your customer's spreadsheet (Excel or CSV) or drop several DXF drawings and get the whole list priced, with totals, ready to export to Excel.
- DXF reading (Pro): the cut length, size and number of contours come straight from the drawing. Dimension and text layers and dashed bend lines are left out, and you can review every layer.
Everything runs in your browser: your prices, spreadsheets and drawings are not uploaded. To work out a realistic machine rate, see the machine hourly cost guide.
Formula
- Weight (kg) = Width × Height × Thickness (mm) × Density (g/cm³) ÷ 1,000,000
- Material = Weight × Price per kg
- Machine time (min) = Cut length (m) ÷ Speed (m/min) + Pierces × Pierce time ÷ 60
- Machine cost = Machine time ÷ 60 × Rate per hour
- Cost per unit = Material + Machine cost
- Price = Cost × (1 + Markup ÷ 100)
Example
20 parts of 200 × 150 mm in 2 mm mild steel (example rates)
- 1Weight: 200 × 150 × 2 × 7.85 ÷ 1,000,000 = 0.471 kg → material at 1.30/kg = 0.61
- 2Cutting: 0.9 m ÷ 12 m/min = 0.075 min; 3 pierces × 1 s = 0.05 min
- 3Machine: 0.125 min at 36.50/h = 0.08 → cost per unit 0.69
- 4+100% markup: 1.38 per part, 27.53 for 20 parts
Cost 0.69 and standard price 1.38 per part (27.53 for 20), with the example rates.
Assumptions, sources and review
Assumptions and limitations
- Material is charged by the weight of the part's bounding rectangle (width × height × thickness × density), at your price per kg.
- Machine time = cut length ÷ cutting speed, plus a fixed time per pierce. Acceleration, rapid moves and setup are not modeled separately: build them into your speeds, pierce time or machine rate.
- Bending, welding, finishing, handling and delivery are not included.
- The shipped prices and speeds are examples, not real values. Results depend entirely on the rates you enter.
- DXF reading: ASCII DXF only; text, dimensions and hatches are ignored; splines are approximated. Review the result before using it.
The formula and the worked example on this page are checked by automated tests in Oxenly's code.
Last reviewed on October 13, 2026 by Diego Urtado.
Found an error? Report itFrequently asked questions
Where do the cutting speeds come from?
From you. The tool ships with example values only; replace them with your machine's cutting chart for each material and thickness, ideally adjusted with times measured on real jobs.
Why is the weight based on width × height?
It uses the bounding rectangle of the part, which is the material you have to buy or reserve on the sheet. For parts with large openings it is conservative. To account for scrap on the whole order, see the sheet yield guide.
What does the DXF reader count?
Lines, arcs, circles, polylines, ellipses, splines and blocks on the layers you leave checked. Text, dimensions and hatches are ignored, and dashed lines (bends, axes) can be left out. It reads ASCII DXF; binary DXF must be exported as ASCII first.
What is free and what is Pro?
Quoting one part is free and unlimited. Batch quotes from spreadsheets or DXF files, reading cut lengths from drawings and Excel export are part of Pro.
Are my prices saved?
Yes, in this browser. They are not uploaded. If you use another device or clear your browser data you will need to enter them again.
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